Stuck in "Preparation" mode

TC 500 MB, seems to be backing up my 2 other computers on network (mac mini, iMac G5) without problems (first back-up ethernet, then subsequent ones through airport). Same true for MacBook pro, but now MacBook pro gets stuck in "Preparation" mode and never backs-up. It will stay there for 24 hours, never advancing to actual back-up. I tried multiple times, tried with ethernet and that doesn't make a difference. rebooted, repaired permissions etc (usual nonsense), to no avail. Also, When I did have it in Preparation, I could initially for several minutes, hear lots of hard drive writing activity in the Time Capsule, but then it stopped and nothing happens. The only way I could get it to back-up with Time Machine was to delete the original back-up from the TC and start over. Backing up now,
Anyone else stuck in Preparation limbo? Any other solutions?
thanks
roger

I am having the same problem, my MacBook Air is stuck in "Preparation" state for hours/days. I even updated to the recent Time Capsule software, but no change.

Similar Messages

Time Capsule stuck in preparing mode...

Hello
I have had a 3rd gen TC for over a year or so now and I stopped doing automatic backups 6 months ago. Yesterday I tried to backup my iMac and it seems to be stuck in the preparing mode. Here is the log:
Starting standard backup
Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://Perry%[email protected]/Data
Mounted network destination at mountpoint: /Volumes/Data using URL: afp://Perry%[email protected]/Data
Error loading /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Vir tualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/Ma cOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 7F1FD83E-6684-11D8-968F-000A957703C0 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x7fa9230362d0 </Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
2012-02-04 23:06:47.755 diskimages-helper[2287:2603] Error loading /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Vir tualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/Ma cOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
          /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacO S/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
2012-02-04 23:06:47.756 diskimages-helper[2287:2603] Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 7F1FD83E-6684-11D8-968F-000A957703C0 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x10191ec70 </Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
2012-02-04 23:06:48.330 diskimages-helper[2287:2603] Error loading /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Vir tualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/Ma cOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
          /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacO S/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
2012-02-04 23:06:48.330 diskimages-helper[2287:2603] Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 7F1FD83E-6684-11D8-968F-000A957703C0 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x10191ec70 </Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
Error loading /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Vir tualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/Ma cOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 7F1FD83E-6684-11D8-968F-000A957703C0 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x7fa9230362d0 </Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
2012-02-04 23:06:50.290 diskimages-helper[2294:2703] Error loading /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Vir tualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/Ma cOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
          /Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacO S/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
2012-02-04 23:06:50.290 diskimages-helper[2294:2703] Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 7F1FD83E-6684-11D8-968F-000A957703C0 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x7fe6a3528cd0 </Librar
If someone could please help me that would be great.

Step 1:
kextstat -kl | awk '!/com\.apple/ {print $6 $7}'
at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch(2.4.4)
com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower(1.5.2)
com.splashtop.driver.SRXDisplayCard(1)
com.splashtop.driver.SRXFrameBufferConnector(1)
com.parallels.kext.prl_usb_connect(7.0
com.parallels.kext.prl_hypervisor(7.0
com.parallels.kext.prl_hid_hook(7.0
com.parallels.kext.prl_netbridge(7.0
com.parallels.kext.prl_vnic(7.0
Step 2:
sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple/ {print $3}'
com.parallels.vm.prl_naptd
com.openssh.sshd
org.x.privileged_startx
org.postfix.master
org.ntp.ntpd
org.cups.cupsd
org.cups.cups-lpd
com.vix.cron
com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon
com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper
com.google.keystone.daemon
com.google.GoogleML
at.obdev.littlesnitchd
Step 3:
launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple/ {print $3}'
org.x.startx
org.openbsd.ssh-agent
com.parallels.vm.prl_pcproxy
com.parallels.DesktopControlAgent
com.parallels.desktop.client.launch
com.google.keystone.root.agent
at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent
at.obdev.LittleSnitchNetworkMonitor
ws.agile.1PasswordAgent
com.akamai.client.plist
com.adobe.ARM.925793fb327152fd34795896fa1fb9ffa268b2a852256fe56609efa3
com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae
com.adobe.AAM.Scheduler-1.0
Step 4:
ls -1A /e*/mach* {,/}L*/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,Keyb,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo,Sta}* L*/Fonts 2> /dev/null
/Landlord Information/Landlord References.doc
/Library/Components:
/Library/Extensions:
VirtualPCNetworking1040.kext
/Library/Frameworks:
AEProfiling.framework
AERegistration.framework
Adobe AIR.framework
ApplicationEnhancer.framework
AudioMixEngine.framework
EWSMac.framework
HPDeviceModel.framework
HPPml.framework
HPServicesInterface.framework
HPSmartPrint.framework
MacFUSE.framework
NyxAudioAnalysis.framework
PluginManager.framework
SRFrameBufferConnection.framework
VNTI.framework
XSKey.framework
Xalan.dll.framework
Xerces.dll.framework
iLifeFaceRecognition.framework
iLifeKit.framework
iLifePageLayout.framework
iLifeSQLAccess.framework
iLifeSlideshow.framework
iMoviePluginAPI.framework
/Library/Input Methods:
/Library/InputManagers:
Ecamm
Menu Extra Enabler
/Library/Internet Plug-Ins:
AdobePDFViewer.plugin
Disabled Plug-Ins
Download_FF.bundle
Flash Player.plugin
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.webplugin
GoogleGadget.webplugin
JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin
Quartz Composer.webplugin
QuickTime Plugin.plugin
SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin
SharePointWebKitPlugin.webplugin
Silverlight.plugin
ebrary Reader
ebrary Reader.plugin
flashplayer.xpt
googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin
iPhotoPhotocast.plugin
npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin
nsIQTScriptablePlugin.xpt
/Library/Keyboard Layouts:
/Library/LaunchAgents:
at.obdev.LittleSnitchNetworkMonitor.plist
at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist
com.google.keystone.agent.plist
com.parallels.DesktopControlAgent.plist
com.parallels.desktop.launch.plist
com.parallels.vm.prl_pcproxy.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons:
at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist
com.apple.aelwriter.plist
com.apple.remotepairtool.plist
com.google.GoogleML.plist
com.google.keystone.daemon.plist
com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist
com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon.plist
/Library/PreferencePanes:
Flash Player.prefPane
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools:
com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper
/Library/QuickLook:
GBQLGenerator.qlgenerator
QuickLookEyeTV.qlgenerator
iWork.qlgenerator
/Library/QuickTime:
AppleIntermediateCodec.component
AppleMPEG2Codec.component
EyeTV MPEG Support.component
Flip4Mac WMV Advanced.component
Flip4Mac WMV Export.component
Flip4Mac WMV Import.component
Google Camera Adapter 0.component
Google Camera Adapter 1.component
ZyGoVideo.component
/Library/ScriptingAdditions:
/Library/Services:
/Library/Spotlight:
GBSpotlightImporter.mdimporter
LogicPro.mdimporter
Microsoft Entourage.mdimporter
Microsoft Office.mdimporter
iWork.mdimporter
/Library/StartupItems:
HP IO
HP Trap Monitor
NUDC
/etc/mach_init.d:
/etc/mach_init_per_login_session.d:
/etc/mach_init_per_user.d:
Library/Address Book Plug-Ins:
AdiumAddressBookAction_AIM.scpt
AdiumAddressBookAction_ICQ.scpt
AdiumAddressBookAction_Jabber.scpt
AdiumAddressBookAction_MSN.scpt
AdiumAddressBookAction_SMS.scpt
AdiumAddressBookAction_Yahoo.scpt
SkypeABDialer.bundle
SkypeABSMS.bundle
Library/Fonts:
Brush Script
encodings.dir
fonts.dir
fonts.list
fonts.scale
Library/Frameworks:
EWSMac.framework
Library/Internet Plug-Ins:
EvernoteSafariClipperPlugin.webplugin
Move-Media-Player.plugin
Picasa.plugin
RealPlayer Plugin.plugin
Library/Keyboard Layouts:
Library/LaunchAgents:
com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist
com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist
com.adobe.ARM.925793fb327152fd34795896fa1fb9ffa268b2a852256fe56609efa3.plist
com.akamai.client.plist
com.apple.AddressBook.ScheduledSync.PHXCardDAVSource.689FCB10-8D33-4A1D-BD39-895 C844BCE85.plist
com.apple.FolderActions.enabled.plist
com.apple.FolderActions.folders.plist
ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist
Library/PreferencePanes:
AkamaiNetSession.prefPane
Printopia.prefPane
Library/Services:
ENService.app
Library/Spotlight:
EndNote.mdimporter
Step 5:
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get the name of every login item'
Day One Agent, Citations, iTunesHelper, iTunesHelper, Alarm Clock, LalaMover, GrowlMenu, Cinch, EvernoteHelper, Evernote, Cinch, BetterSnapTool, PocketCloud Companion App, The Hit List, Splashtop Streamer, Alfred, RealPlayer Downloader Agent, Rowmote Helper, Dropbox, InstUtilLaunch

IPhone 3GS stuck in recovery mode, iTunes "Preparing iPhone for restore" nothing is happening.

When loading iTunes this morning an update that I had been putting off popped up and I figured since I was going to be in the house for a while I'd finally do it. An error took place that I foolishly ignored and made no note of.
My iPhone is now stuck in Recovery mode (I assume so anyway, after having googles my problem for hours), iTunes tells me I need to restore the phone and so I click to allow it to. It then gets to the "Preparing iPhone for restore" and just sits there, doing nothing.
I am unable to use my phone and I feel very much out of my depth as I have NO idea what to do. Any help (noob friendly) would be greatly appreciated.

I appear to have managed to fix the issue through googling the error code (rather than ignoring it this time), and figured I'd add the solution here for anybody in the future.
I simply moved my cable connecting my pc and iPhone to a USB port in the back of my computer rather than using the ones in the front and the process kicked off almost instantly without any further issues.

Time Machine stuck in Preparing Data Mode

In the past two days my time Machine has not made a successful back up. It seems to be stuck in "preparing data" and will stay like this all day. Even when I click the time machine preferences and stop it, it never changes. Does anyone have any solutions to this or has experienced it.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

Judith,
The following might contain an explanation for what you are experiencing.
*_Time Machine May Report "Preparing..." For a Long Time_*
First, it’s good to determine WHY Time Machine is "Preparing..." for an extended period of time. Examining the Console logs during this event can reveal what is actually going on behind the scenes. It may be “Preparing…” for a genuinely good reason. How long is 'too long' to wait for Time Machine to finish "Preparing..."? Some times, "Preparing..." is required to perform the normal housekeeping that Time Machine does periodically. Other times, it really is "stuck" and never proceeds after more than 24 hours.
*”Deep Traversal” (Recent Crash / Forced Restart / System Update / Extended Period Between Backups)*
According to the following KB article it can sometimes take quite a long time if Time Machine begins a “deep traversal” and has to compare data inventories. This may apply to your situation, particularly if many Gigs of data are involved. [http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516]
You see, Time Machine *+does not+* ordinarily perform file-by-file comparisons to determine what has changed and thus determine what needs to be backed up. Rather, Time Machine relies on FSEvents notifications. This is a log that the system uses to keep track of changes to directories. Rather than scan tens of thousands of files for changes each time, Time Machine simply looks at this log and narrows its’ scan to only the directories that have experienced changes since the last backup. Otherwise, Time Machine would have to be running constantly just to catch every change on its own and thus eat up precious CPU.
Every event that FSEvents records has its’ own ID which includes a time stamp. At the end of every backup, Time Machine stores the last event ID that it processes. When the next backup is initiated, Time Machine looks at this stored ID and determines that it only needs to backup events that have occurred after the time stamp on this last event ID.
If, due to a system crash, power failure, forced restart, or some other major system event, Time Machine cannot find this last event ID in the system logs then it will consider the FSEvents log “untrustable” and it will go into what’s called “deep traversal”. The Console logs may report +“Event store UUIDs don't match”.+ In this event, Time Machine will by-pass the system log entirely and perform its’ own file-by-file comparison to determine what has changed since its’ last backup. Obviously, if tens or hundreds of Gigs are involved, then this process can take quite some time and should be allowed to proceed.
Additionally, it appears that if Time Machine has to go back too far to find the last event ID, then it will give up and simply go into “deep traversal” and do the file-by-file scan on its’ own. This can occur if Time Machine has not been able to perform its’ hourly backups for some time, as is the case for users who only backup once a week or so. This is also the case with major Mac OS system updates that change thousands of files at one time. There are simply too many events logged by the system for Time Machine to bother looking for the last known event ID.
*Consolidation / “Thinning”*
At the beginning, when Time Machine is first used, incremental backups are relatively quick events. But as time goes on, and backup files grow, Time Machine requires time to perform house-keeping on the backed up data. This maintenance is referred to in the Console logs as "thinning". The larger the backup files become, the more time Time Machine requires.
To prevent the backup drive from filling up too fast, Time Machine will periodically consolidate, or 'thin', backups to free up space for new data. After a certain period of time, each hourly backup becomes "expired". This occurs about 24-48 hours after the hourly backup took place. At that point Time Machine begins consolidating, or "thinning", all the hourly backups of a given day into one daily backup. Then, after about a month all daily backups for a given week “expire” and are consolidated into a single weekly backup.
Obviously, since the Time Machine process (backupd) does not run continuously, it has to do this "thinning" during routine backups. That is where "Preparing Backup..." and "Finishing Backup..." come in. It is during these initial and closing phases of a backup that "thinning" occurs. As a result, while not every backup will be accompanied by extended periods of "Preparing..." and "Finishing...", periodically Time Machine will require extra time to perform these space-saving consolidations.
*Anti-Virus Software*
Running anti-virus software can interfere with the backup process. Either disable it altogether, or try the suggestion outlined here, “If you use third-party anti-virus scanning software and have issues, make sure your Time Machine back up folder (Backups.backupdb on the Time Machine disk) is excluded from virus scanning.” (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516)
*Software Updates* #
Installing new software, upgrading existing software, or updating Mac OS X system software can create major changes in the structure of your Macs directories. Time Machine will backup every file that has changed since the installation.
After an OS update (like 10.5.5) Time Machine realizes the system no longer matches what it looked like during the previous backup. So it has determined that it's earlier catalogue of what-should-be-where is “untrustable”. So it is going to go item-by-item comparing the before and after of your system.
*Spotlight Keeps Indexing Backup Drive* #
It may be that Time Machine can’t proceed or complete a backup due to Spotlight indexing. During this period, take a look at the Spotlight icon in the upper right corner of your screen. Is there a tiny dot pulsating in the center of the spyglass? Click on the icon. Is there a progress bar displayed? Generally, Spotlight indexing is a good thing. If it has only been a couple of hours then, stop the backup, turn Time Machine OFF, and let the indexing continue.
However, at times Spotlight may hang and never progress after many hours, preventing further backups from taking place.
Go to System Preferences --> Time Machine.
Using the slider on the left, turn OFF Time Machine backups for now.
Next, click “Show All” in the toolbar.
Select the Spotlight Preferences.
Click the Privacy Tab.
First, drag your Macs’ internal hard disk from the desktop to the Privacy list.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Macs’ hard disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will initiate a reindex of the hard disk. If you click on the Spotlight menu icon you may see the message:
+“Spotlight helps you quickly find things on your computer. Spotlight will be available as soon as the contents of your computer have been indexed.”+
...and a progress bar will indicate the time remaining.
Once completed, drag your Time Machine backup disk into the Privacy list of the Spotlight Preferences.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Time Machine backup disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will now initiate a reindex of the hard disk.
Once completed, if you have any other hard disks attached to your Mac that are also being backed using Time Machine, then force a reindex as well using the procedure outlined above.
Then turn Time Machine back ON and initiate a backup.
*Run Away System Process*
It’s possible that Time Machine is stuck “Preparing…” because another process is monopolizing your Macs’ CPU. Launch Activity Monitor and sort the items by “CPU”. Is there a process that is at or near 100% that might be preventing the backupd process from moving forward?
One poster stated, “I took it to my local Genius Bar and they found a Syslogd daemon running, taking up 100% of my CPU….This resulted in the "Preparing..." mode running forever.” [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1755600&tstart=15]
You may be able use Activity Monitor to “kill” the offending process. Or you may be able to resolve it simply by rebooting your Mac. Then try backing up again.
*Verify/Repair Mac Hard Disk & Permissions*
It may be that your Macs’ internal hard disk has so many file/directory issues that Time Machine simply has trouble making sense of it. Some users have had success using Disk Utility on their Macs’ hard drive.
Launch Disk Utility and click “Repair Disk Permissions”.
Once complete, attempt a backup.
If Time Machine appears to hang at “Preparing…” again, then do the following:
Insert your Macs’ original install DVD and reboot holding down the “C” key.
At the Welcome screen go up to the “Utilities” menu and select Disk Utility.
Select your Macs’ hard disk on the left and click “Verify Disk” on the right.
If problems are found click “Repair Disk”.
Reboot to your normal desktop and try backing up again.
*For Time Capsule Users* #
If, though, none of the options above have helped and it has been 12 hours or more of “Preparing…”, then the Time Capsule may need to be restarted.
Stop the backup from the Time Machine menu. (Give if a few minutes while it says “Stopping backup…”)
When the Time Machine icon stops spinning, unplug the TC from the wall outlet.
Wait 10-15 seconds.
Re-plug it in again.
After it has restarted (30-60 seconds), attempt another backup.
Time Machine will report “Preparing…” again, but it shouldn’t be lasting more than a couple of hours.
Let us know if any of the above was helpful in resolving your issue.
Cheers!

My apple TV 3 is stuck in recovery. When connected to iTunes through microUSB, it gets stuck in "Preparing Apple TV for restore", then after what seems forever, it gives me an error 2003. What can be done?

I tried to update my Apple TV today through iTunes using a microUSB. It gave me an error, I tried again and now it is stuck in recovery mode. If I plug it into the TV, it just shows that I have to connect it to iTunes (just the picture). I unplug everything, plug the microUSB and USB, plug the power, open iTunes, it shows, asks me to restore, I click Restore. It starts extracting the file, finishes, then gets stuck in "Preparing Apple TV for restore..." for what seems forever, when it finally times out, I get an error number 2003. I have tried different USB ports, no other USB device is connecte, I have tried restarting the PC (running windows 7, up to date, iTunes up to date as well), I have tried redownloading the IPSW and even using the shift+restore and manually selecting the .IPSW file, and to be honest, I give up! If anyone can help, I'd truly appreciate it. Thanks!
PS: I also tried pressing menu+down for 6 seconds to restart, I tried pressing menu+play to restart, I tried pressing menu+down 6 secs and then menu+play 6 seconds for the so called DFU mode, nothing works, the Apple TV just restarts back to the "connect to itunes picture" along with the fast continuous white light flashing.

typed in appletv error 2003 in google
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2614453?start=0&tstart=0
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=812231
more
https://www.google.dk/search?client=opera&q=appletv+error+2003&sourceid=opera&ie =utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest

IPhone 3gs stuck in recovery mode, firmware iO 5

My iPhone is stuck in recovery mode. I have a 3gs, firmware 5.0.
Before I tried to restore it, my iPhone would randomly shut off, turn back on, and display a notification that said "Activation Required." Now, sometimes my phone would shut off again and return to it's previous working state. However, this time it did not. I put the phone into recovery mode and tried restoring it on my Acer Aspire 1 with Windows 7. iTunes put the phone through the various stages of restoration; Extracting Software, Preparing iPhone for Restore, Restoring Software, Verifying Restore, Restoring Firmware. After all of this, a nice little error message pops up that reads, "The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error has occured (1)."
After this little mishap occured four more times, I decided to click "More Information," and was promptly brought to the help page set up here. I proceeded to troubleshoot by updating to the latest version of iTunes, updating my security, restarting my computer, and so forth until all the necessary precautions were performed. Now it was back to iTunes to try my luck at getting my life back.
To my delight, I found that this time the restoration process took upwards of forty minutes to complete. However, to my despair, a nice little error message popped up that read, "The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error has occured (-1)." Ah, a different error message! i thought, feeling as if there was hope in fixing my phone. I clicked "More Information" and skimmed through the specific error messages, looking for that lucky -1. Nothing.
I need help. I have attempted to restore my phone a dozen times since this occurence, and I'm growing tired of going through the same process over and over and getting the same result. My phone is stuck in recovery mode now. I've tried restoring the phone on 2 different computers, to find out if, in fact, the problem was my iPhone and not my computer.
Some important information you may need to know in order to help me solve my problem:
iPhone 3gs
Running iOS 5.0
Using iTunes 10.5
On an Acer Aspire One Netbook
Running Windows 7
All security updates installed as of November 7, 2011
Also iTunes 10.5 on Acer Aspire 57354774 laptop
Running Windows 7
Reply ASAP with a solution please!

Hello,
I have an iPhone 3GS which I updated with the last firmware (iOS 5) 2 weeks ago. Everything goes ok.
And suddenly, while the phone was recharching. It asked me to activate it but I was unable to do it as it was rebooting constantly every time I connected it to iTunes.
I tried both 2 restore modes (Restore and DFU) but since I can't achieve a restore with the last Apple iOS 5 firmware. I got the error code 1.
I I tried on 3 different computers but same error. I really don't know what to do next...
I already called Apple Customer Care and I'm still waiting for an answer. I let you know.
And you, did you manage to get your iPhone back alive ?

Brand new iphone wont update, stuck in recovery mode

So I just bought a brand new iPhone 5S today, and when I plugged it into iTunes I saw that there was an update for iOS 7.1.2. When I tried to update my phone, iTunes downloaded the update but wouldn't apply it to the phone, instead giving me a "waiting for iPhone" message. After a while I tried reconnecting the phone but iTunes stopped recognizing it and my phone was stuck with the iTunes logo and charger on-screen. I then put my phone in recovery mode - no results. I tried syncing it with another computer, but I can't restore the phone without it also installing 7.1.2, which doesn't work and just gets stuck on "preparing to restore iPhone." Is there anything I can possibly do to make my new phone work again? Did 7.1.2 actually just kill my phone?

Hello rph30,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
First, since your iPhone is not being recognized by iTunes, even though it is in recovery mode, please follow the appropriate link below for the computer you own:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1591
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538
Then ultimately go through the recovery process:
If you can't update or restore your iOS device
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
Take care,
Alex H.

HELP!!! iphone 3gs stuck in recovery mode

I tried doing the latest iphone system software update and the **** thing got stuck in recovery mode! The 291 MB update downloads fine and it made a backup and then i assume it removed the old software and started installing the new software. It goes through the "Preparing iPhone for restore" and gets to the very end of it on iTunes and just stops. On the phone it has the silver apple with the status bar below it, the status bar gets a little bit of the ways done and then just stops as well. Then after a minute the iPhone says that I need to connect it to iTunes. This is where it sits and does nothing. If I disconnect the iphone and reconnect it to itunes itunes will tell me that it has detected a phone in recovery mode and needs to restore it. I say ok and it goes through the above process again and stops at the same point. What can I do to get it out of recovery mode? I dont need to save all my stuff that was on the phone, tho it would be nice.
Thanks
p.s. it is the latest version of iTunes

The "hosts" file may be blocking the iTunes Store. Find your hosts file. The hosts file is normally found in the following location:
Windows XP: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
1. Select the hosts file. Then click the Edit menu, and choose Copy.
2. Then, click the Edit menu again, and choose Paste. There should now be a duplicate of the hosts file named "Copy of hosts".
3. Drag the original hosts file to your desktop.
4. Right-click the "Copy of hosts" file and choose Open. You may be prompted to choose the program you want to use to open this file. Double-click Notepad.
5. When Notepad opens, click the Edit menu and choose Select All. Then click the Edit menu, and choose Delete.
6. Click the File menu, and choose Save. Close Notepad.
7. Right-click the "Copy of hosts" file, and choose Rename. Type "hosts" (without quotation marks) and press Enter.
8. Restart your computer and try updating again.

Iphone4 stuck in recovery mode after failed attempt to update OS. how to fix?

Hi,
I tried to update my iPhone software (after successfully backing up to iCloud, and then successfully updating iTunes software) but got a 1604 error message. The phone is stuck in recovery mode, and all attempts to restore the phone have resulted in failure. I keep getting the same error message. Basically, the phone never gets past "preparing to restore." Please help.
I am linking my iPhone 4 to a PC Windows XP Professional, with up-to-date software. This is the third time I've tried (and failed) to update the iPhone software, though the other two times I was able to restore. This time nothing seems to be working. Please help! Thanks.

Look what google found! Amazing how that works eh?
http://iphone-downloads.hubpages.com/hub/Fixing-1604-iPhone-Restore-Error--How-T o-Go-About-Fixing-1604-iPhone-Restore-Error
also:
*Error 1604*: This error is often related to USB timing. Try changing USB ports, uninstalling and reinstalling USB ports, and other available USB troubleshooting steps (troubleshooting USB connections, device not recognized properly, computer won't recognize a FireWire or USB device). If you are using a dock, bypass it and connect directly to the USB 30-pin dock-connector cable. If the issue persists on a known-good computer, the device may need service.
If the issue is not resolved by USB isolation troubleshooting, and another computer is not available, try these steps to resolve the issue:
1. Connect the device to iTunes, confirm that the device is in Recovery Mode. If it's not in Recovery Mode, put it into Recovery Mode.
2. Restore and wait for error 1604.
3. When prompted, click OK.
4. Close and re-open iTunes while iPhone remains connected.
5. iPhone should now be recognized in Recovery Mode again.
6. Try to restore again.

3gs Stuck on "preparing iPhone software for restore..."

Attempted to update to 4.1 from 3.1 and iphone is now stuck on "preparing iPhone software for restore..." Can't use phone, or restore it...
the first time I tried to update, it went through the update process but crashed at the very end...I wish I wrote down what error number it gave me then.
since then every time i reset it into dfu mode and connect the phone to itunes, itunes says the phones name is iPhone and n/a for my capacity, software version, and serial number.
I've tried two computers, rebooted both of them, reinstalled itunes, apple want's me to pay 30 bucks to talk to them for support...
QQ I don't know what to do...

My iPhone has been buggy since upgrading to firmware 2.0 and when the new version of iTunes (7.7) came out last night I thought it would be a good idea to do a full restore. I have restored my iPhone in the past and everything worked flawlessly, even if it might not have been speedy.
Here is what happened to me:
I chose to restore my iPhone and it did the same thing you mentioned as it sat there with the status bar running saying it was "preparing iPhone software for restore". It NEVER stopped after quite a while.
so...
I reset the iPhone and disconnected it and restarted iTunes. I reconnected my iPhone and it recognized it as being in the safety mode (forgot term) and then gave me the option to restore from backup. I selected restore from backup and it then made it past the preparing software but got hung up on actually backing up the iPhone. We are talking hours. I then did a reset on the iPhone and repeated this process and said F it and went to bed.
When I woke up the phone was restored and working and had all of my apps on it but no music, photos, etc. I was ok with that as I needed to leave for work. it had even restored an alarm I had set as it was going off when I entered the room.
My issue is that I don't feel that the phone got a full and clean restore as it had to be removed from the process MULTIPLE times due to the process hanging for hours. Anyone who has restored knows it is not normally this messy or timely of a process.
Anyone who can advise us on what to do would be very, very helpful. I am considering completely reinstalling iTunes on my mac and starting over but don't want to have to do ALL of that (as it would include reimporting all music, photos, redownloading and reinstalling all apps, etc).
I love my Apple products and they are usually good to me but the firmware 2.0 and now this iTunes 7.7 have been some of the buggiest software I have ever used from Apple.
Please help and thank you in advance.

Cannot restore any device in iTunes, stuck on preparing for restore

I've tried restoring 2 iPhones using iTunes in windows 7, neither have worked
What I do is entering the restore mode (where I press on the lock and home buttons together...), connect to computer, iTunes identifies the device, extracts software, connects to apple, but gets stuck on preparing iPhone for restore.
I've tried restarting my computer
removing and reinstalling iTunes: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1925
turned off Windows firewall
but nothing worked!
checked hosts files and it has nothing about apple
I only can remember error 2005, which pops up after I disconnect the iPhone
So, I tried to restore using another computer and it worked like a charm!
I need to fix iTunes in my computer, please help.
Thanks.

Try:
- iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
- Also try DFU mode after try recovery mode
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
- If not successful and you can't fully turn the iOS device fully off, let the battery fully drain. After charging for an least an hour try the above again.
- Try on another computer
- If still not successful that usually indicates a hardware problem and an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

IPhone stuck in recovery mode after attempted to downgrade from iOS5 Beta

Hi,
There was a bug being reported in one of my apps, but I couldn't replicate it. I tried to downgrade back to 4.3.5 to see if iOS 5 was the reason that I couldn't replicate it, but now my phone is stuck in Recovery Mode.
I have restored Xcode 4.1, iTunes 10.4.1 to remove iOS5 from my mac. Now I'm stuck in the cycle: connect me to iTunes screen -> Preparing to restore -> Unknown error code 1604.
Will I get help at an Apple store? Or do I now just have an expensive door stop?

Please use the confidential forums created for this purpose:
iOS 5 beta

TM stuck on preparing [number] items

Hey.
My Time Machine usually works fine with my MBP, OS X 10.6.3 and my WD MyStudio harddrive.
But for the last couple of days TM has been stuck in "preparing files" mode, where it's supposed to prepare all files before it makes the back up. It's been loading for hours now and it has gone up to about 3000 files, even though I've barely made any changes to my system at all (IMHO it should be more like 30 files to prepare). The preparation is taking forever!
I kept it running during the night but once it got to the actual "backing up files" mode it got stuck on 19.8 out of 700 mb. So I had to restart it from the beginning and now it's back to "preparing-for-ages" mode again =(
Is there some way to get around the preparation cycle to make it go straight to the back up activity? Or maybe reduce the 3000 (?) files that has been changed?
It feels like I just want to hit the "force quit" button for TM but there isn't one =(

blizzyman wrote:
Hey.
My Time Machine usually works fine with my MBP, OS X 10.6.3 and my WD MyStudio harddrive.
But for the last couple of days TM has been stuck in "preparing files" mode, where it's supposed to prepare all files before it makes the back up. It's been loading for hours now and it has gone up to about 3000 files, even though I've barely made any changes to my system at all (IMHO it should be more like 30 files to prepare). The preparation is taking forever!
There's likely a problem with the data on your system, or the backups, or the backup drive. Start by verifying your internal HD and repairing your backups (and any other non-boot volumes being backed-up), per #A5 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
If that doesn't help, see #A1 there, to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. See the yellow box in #C2 for explanations of common messages.
You might also want to see #D4 for some reasons for extra-large backups.
If that doesn't provide a clue, post back with full details of what you've done, and the results, and copy and post the widget messages here.
Is there some way to get around the preparation cycle to make it go straight to the back up activity?
No. It's trying to determine what needs to be backed-up. This process will start over on each backup attempt until one completes normally.
It feels like I just want to hit the "force quit" button for TM but there isn't one =(
Do you mean it won't cancel? If so, see #D6 in the Troubleshooting Tip.

Still stuck in charge mode

so even if my ipod isnt connected to anything- the battery logo shows up as fully charged as though it were still connected to a power source. same if its turned off, the battery will appear on the screen and say "charged" above it.
since this started happening my computer also will not recognize the unit. actually no computer will recognize it- i tried it on my friend's laptop just after he finished updating his own, and nothing.
once connected to a computer, it either does literally nothing at all, or the battery flashes as if its charging.
the ipod functions, but this is so frustrating
resetting it, letting the battery die, and fully charging it up again have done nothing.

similar problem here:
when attempting to install 2.0.1
mid-install i got an "unknown error--error(6)" message
my phone is now stuck in recovery mode (showing only the USB cable with the arrow to the itunes logo)
itunes prompts me to restore my phone before it can do anything further.
i press the restore button, it extracts software and prepares phone for restore
mid-restore i get an "the iphone could not be restored. an unknown error occurred (6)."
i called customer service twice and they were convinced it was a problem with my itunes, they had me uninstall itunes, quicktime, apple software updates, and mobile service support-- i then rebooted and downloaded and installed all the programs i just uninstalled
itunes opens up, i plug my phone in, it tells me my phone is in recovery mode and i have to restore it, i hit the restore button, it extracts software, prepares phone for restore and then the "the iphone could not be restored. an unknown error occurred (6)."
costumer service was wrong. if they tell you to take these steps you will just be wasting close to two hours of your time only to return to right where you began.
i feel like Sisyphus with this phone and the faulty software
first the problem with the 2.0 registering and being with a useless phone
and now 2.0.1 (bug fixes)[<---irony] and have the same problem.
if anyone is having this problem/has alleviated this problem please please please post on how you achieved such a feat in here
any help or suggestions at all are very appreciated.
thanks!

Time machine stuck on 'preparing back-up'

Hello everyone,
I have currently obtained a Macbook Pro 2.4 GHz. On my old Macbook (Snow Leopard) I've always been able to run Timemachine on a seperate harddrive (G-Force 2T). Never had any problems. Used to back up once a week and timemachine never prepared a back-up any longer than maybe a couple of hours. And the HD on my old Macbook was packed!
Ever since I've been using Lion my timemachine gets stuck on 'preparing back-up'. I've read other posts on this subject which indicate rebooting/restoring the disk helps. I did this and it worked fine for a couple of days. After that it got stuck and still is... it keeps preparing for whole days. My Macbooks HD only has 2 GB of stuff on it... so I don't think it wouyld take all that long even if in a 'deep tarversal' mode.
Since I would rather not keep erasing and restoring my hard diskI wonder if there's anything else I can do?

Hello linc Davis,
Underneath the text you said to post. The last error 256 keeps repeating with each time a different file. I just posted the first one in a looooooong line of fetching properties and error 265's. The first one at ten this morning and the last one just now... list keeps growing.
Does this mean anything to you?
05-03-12 09:39:05,083 com.apple.backupd: Starting standard backup
05-03-12 09:39:06,188 com.apple.backupd: Error -35 while resolving alias to backup target
05-03-12 09:39:16,271 com.apple.backupd: Backup failed with error: 19
05-03-12 09:40:43,602 com.apple.backupd: Starting standard backup
05-03-12 09:40:43,669 com.apple.backupd: Error -35 while resolving alias to backup target
05-03-12 09:40:53,963 com.apple.backupd: Backup failed with error: 19
05-03-12 10:12:17,115 com.apple.backupd: Starting standard backup
05-03-12 10:12:17,713 com.apple.backupd: Backing up to: /Volumes/JOEP TM2T/Backups.backupdb
05-03-12 10:12:18,817 com.apple.backupd: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
05-03-12 10:12:18,872 com.apple.backupd: Deep event scan at path:/ reason:must scan subdirs|new event db|
05-03-12 10:16:49,403 com.apple.backupd: Finished scan
05-03-12 10:47:25,471 com.apple.backupd: Error (256): fetching properties: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file “AppleDictionary.css” couldn’t be opened." UserInfo=0x7fc92ee42260 {NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/JOEP%20TM2T/Backups.backupdb/Joep%E2%80%99s%20M acBook%20Pro/2012-02-06-110231/Macintosh%20HD/Library/Dictionaries/Apple%20Dicti onary.dictionary/Contents/Resources/ar.lproj/AppleDictionary.css, NSFilePath=/Volumes/JOEP TM2T/Backups.backupdb/Joep’s MacBook Pro/2012-02-06-110231/Macintosh HD/Library/Dictionaries/Apple Dictionary.dictionary/Contents/Resources/ar.lproj/AppleDictionary.css, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fc92ee42150 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Input/output error"}

Stuck in "Preparation" mode

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